


Waiting On Words

by official-squints (spinalcord)



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Developing Friendships, F/M, Feel-good, Fluff, Friendship, Minor Injuries, Pre-Relationship, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 03:10:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12202713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spinalcord/pseuds/official-squints
Summary: Alex has a habit of picking up odd objects - things that she uses sometimes to speak for her. MacCready doesn't seem to be appreciative of her gifts, but that doesn't sway her from bringing him more.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [When Your Lover Has Gone](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11114040) by [official-squints (spinalcord)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spinalcord/pseuds/official-squints). 



> This is a scene from early in their relationship, before they become lovers. I never really touched on this habit of hers in the main series because it just took up more pages than I had to give it. So here it is on it's own, in a cute little mini fic! Enjoy!

Dust and soot from a long burnt-out fire on the second floor floated down to the bits of rubble that Alex was currently trying _not_ to trip over. It was bad enough that she’d already faceplanted a few times in ruins like these, but most of the time, MacCready would have to saunter over and help her back to her feet. He was always respectful about it, though, and only chuckled a little. Probably just because he didn’t want to get fired over making fun of how she looked. She enjoyed his company, but she didn’t know if she could tolerate something like that.

An old trophy case, with the glass and some of the lights busted out, sat in front of her and she hopped over a twisted locker to get to it. Occasionally, you could find some gold or silver off the trophies or scraps of copper in the lighting. These all looked painted, though. Darn it. Her fingertips hovered over the broken glass and cheap awards as she scanned the case, until one shiny glint on the very top shelf caught her eye. Stretching up on her toes, she cautiously reached into the case again and came away with a tiny, but hefty trophy decoration. Must have broken off or something. She turned it over in her palm and squinted at the silver sniper rifle, admiring the way the untarnished silver glowed in the light. In fact, it reminded her of someone…

The hallways around her were empty, which normally would have been cause for alarm, but they’d already cleared every nook and cranny of raiders and attack dogs. No telling why they enjoyed holing up in little schools like this, but perhaps it had something to do with all the books to burn and lockers to turn into makeshift walls. Well, if that was the case, they must have hit this group shortly after their arrival. Hardly anything was changed, at least not by the raiders themselves. That was a pretty good thing, because most of the time, raiders liked to decorate with rotting corpses. How they could stand the smell, she’d never know, but maybe it was all the chems they were hopped up on.

Alex shrugged and shook her head as she started wandering down to the gymnasium, though a quick peek inside told her that MacCready wasn’t there. That was expected, though. There really wasn’t much inside the gym, except for basketballs and some other random equipment, and neither of them were interested in cheap rubber and plastic scrap for right now. She continued on down the hallway, back to where the classrooms had been, and started poking her head into the rooms as she passed. A little bit of panic rose in her throat when she reached the end of the hall and still hadn’t found him, but there was a second hallway on the opposite side and a few rooms upstairs. He wouldn’t just leave her, so he had to be there somewhere.

A sigh of relief made him raise a brow and half-turn towards her, still holding up the book he’d found. MacCready kept his eyes glued on her as she toddled into the trashed classroom and drummed her fingers on a desk, smiling sweetly at him. As he started to turn back to the stack of books he was browsing through, she leaned forward and tilted her head.

“Um, what’d you find?” she asked casually.

“Huh? Oh, just a couple books. Tryin’ to see if they have most of their pages, but I think… they do,” he answered, piling three of them on the desk behind him. “At least, some of them do.”

“Oh, that’s good. More books are always good. Uh-”

“Let’s poke through the kitchen for some food before we set up camp. C’mon.”

With a couple books under his arms, he slipped through the desks with ease and waved for her to follow him down the hall. The silver rifle found a little home in one of her pouches as she hung her head and turned to catch up with him. There’d be plenty of time to show him later, she guessed. _If_ she didn’t forget about it. A couple chunks of ceiling tile were kicked in every direction as she shuffled after him, until his boots suddenly came into view and she collided with his side.

“Watch where you’re going!” MacCready barked, glaring at her.

Alex hunched her shoulders as she quickly backed away. “Sorry… it’s kinda dark.”

“Well, turn your damn light on, then.” His face softened as she flipped her Pip-Boy light on, though not by much. “Grab as much food as you can that looks decent. We can take the rest with us on the way back to Covenant.”

That was all he left it at before he took off to search the shelves on the opposite end of the kitchen. She turned to her right with a sigh, scolding herself for not being more careful as she gathered up boxes of Instamash and steaks in her arms. It was obvious that he didn’t care for the mac and cheese or cans of soup or beans, but as far as food that wasn’t junk went, he would always go for a warm Salisbury steak with a side of mashed potatoes. Not that it was his favorite meal by any means; she’d already learned how much he loved a good pork pie. In fact, the last time they were at Sanctuary, she had made cute, bite-sized mini pies in a cupcake tray and he had gone nu-

“Earth to Alex! You wanna hurry up with that, or were you planning on standing there all night?”

A scowl twitched on his face as he took the boxes out of her hands and threw them into a big shopping basket on his arm. They’d organize their stuff later, once they had set up a camp somewhere. Other boxes on the shelves were hastily dumped into the basket until it was overflowing, all while she just stood there and watched.

“Are you tired or something?” he asked, obviously trying to sound a little less annoyed with her.

“Yeah, a little. Sorry,” Alex mumbled back. She took the basket from him as he started to look around the small cafeteria, though she instantly regretted it. The damn thing was so heavy!

MacCready nodded, then tilted his head toward the middle of the room. “Let’s set up here. I doubt anymore of those morons are going to show up tonight, but we can barricade the door anyway. Nothing will get in here.”

“Okay. I’ll take care of the fire and dinner if you block the door,” she said, nodding. “Did you see any cinderblocks around?”

“Some in the backroom, yeah,” he answered gruffly, already halfway to the door. Maybe he was tired, too. Or hungry. He was always really grumpy when he got hungry, especially when they didn’t have any _good_ food to look forward to.

A couple cinderblocks surrounded a small campfire, and Alex prayed that the makeshift cooking rack she had built wouldn’t fall in the middle of it and ruin their food. Two steaks sat precariously over the fire while she mixed some salt and pepper into the Instamash, hopefully to make it not taste like irradiated cardboard. Beside her, MacCready plopped down on the floor and started picking through the scrap and supplies they had found, organizing them neatly enough to be put away in their packs. Once their dinner was ready, he tossed down a bundle of copper wiring and greedily took a tray from her hands. They ate their food in silence, mostly because she wasn’t sure if he would snap at her again.

“We don’t have room left for this stupid fan, boss. Do you want to take the screws out?” he said, suddenly holding a broken desk fan out to her. Oh shit, had she been staring at him? She still was! “I mean, if you don’t want it anymore-”

“Yes, I do want the screws! My bad.” She leaned over and took the fan from him, then reached for the screwdriver on her belt. Each one dropped into a little box she used to carry around the smaller pieces of scrap and the rest of the fan was thrown into a pile of garbage behind her. When she turned back, he was still working away at sorting everything, probably by order of what would earn them the most caps. Alex bit her lip as she felt around the pouch for the silver rifle. “Uh, I found this, too. I thought… you might like it,” she mumbled, shyly holding it out.

MacCready stared at it for a moment, then at her. He seemed surprised by how heavy it was once he finally took it, but his face instantly turned down into a glare. “Why are you always bringing me random shi- er, junk like this?”

“Well, I thought you might think it was neat.” She shoved her hands beneath her thighs and shrugged.

“It’s a paperweight,” he said, obviously annoyed. It ended up in his lap as he shook his head and went back to his task. “Thanks, I guess.”

“You don’t have to keep it. I just thought I’d show you.”

There wasn’t an answer as he shoved a couple cans of peaches towards her, but she just let it go. They couldn’t be carrying around a bunch of things they didn’t need, and something that heavy wasn’t worth the trouble, except maybe for the silver. She told herself she wasn’t going to get upset about it if he left it behind. They were barely even friends, anyway. So, it really wasn’t like the things she brought him had any sentimental value. It was just… she didn’t know how to make friends, and _showing_ him that she was thinking about him was easier for her than holding any sort of conversation. But maybe he was only being a bit nicer to her so that he could appease her. He was making more than a decent pile of caps every week running with her, after all.

A bundle of rubber strips, two boxes of ammo, and a fresh can of purified water fell in her lap as he finished dividing up their loot and shoved what useless things they couldn’t carry off to the side. While she struggled to fit all of her supplies and scrap into her pack, he finished putting his away and patted around for a pack of cigarettes. But out of the corner of her eye, when he thought she wasn’t looking, she noticed a silver glint as the little thing was lifted from his lap, examined, and then discreetly tucked into a pouch on his belt. When she turned back to him, he continued giving her that same, grumpy glare, though her smile was much brighter as he offered her a cigarette and a light.

***

“Hey, brought you something to eat,” Alex called, catching his attention as she stepped into the quaint, clean bedroom. He tossed the comic book aside as she gingerly set a tray of steaming yao guai roast on the bed next to him. “How’s your leg?”

“Oh god, it’s killing me! I don’t know how I’ll ever go on!” he teased, clutching his heart as she giggled. “Nah, it’s fine, but I could use another stimpak dose if you’ve got one. Mmmm, scratch that. Let’s leave it broken. I’m enjoying having you bring me all this good food in bed _juuuuust_ a little too much.”

She rolled her eyes as she dug around her med pouch for a stimpak. “You gonna want another Med-X, too?”

MacCready shook his head, and she poked the needle into his shin as he continued to shovel bites of roast into his mouth. Then she checked the splint and bandages, which all looked clean, and threw the empty syringe away next to the bed. A few books from his pack were set on the nightstand before she pulled a chair up to sit beside him, in case he wanted some company.

“What is this?” he asked through a mouthful of food. In his hand was the weird fountain pen she’d found, which was molded into the shape of a bullet and had an ‘R’ carved into the end. She’d left it on the tray for him so that he could look it over once he was done eating, but obviously, he wanted to see it now.

“A pen. Still works, too. I was going to give it to you yesterday, but then you had to go and fall off the second-floor landing like a dumbass.”

“Hey, it was a steel railing, and it didn’t even look that rusted! Not my fault the guy who built the place couldn’t use longer screws.” He turned it over in his hands, then shook his head. “Why do you keep bringing me stuff? It’s always weighing down my pockets.”

Alex’s eyes lit up at that, having thought that he only kept the little rifle. “You do keep them?” she exclaimed.

“N-no, I mean- I misspoke,” he said, shoving another bite into his mouth before he could ‘misspeak’ again. His cheeks burned pink as he carefully slid the pen beneath his comic. “Just take a couple caps over to Penny’s and buy me some sweet rolls, alright? And take your time. No rush.”

A half roll of caps was plucked from his purse over on the dresser before she skipped across the courtyard to the general store. Some caravan merchants stood around, hocking what they could to Penny before the bubbly woman spotted Alex and shooed everyone out of the way. A tin full of fresh, sugary sweet rolls wasn’t difficult to get her hands on, and she patted the cat’s head on her way back out. Deezer floated close, offering her two cans of lemonade as she headed for the town’s main building. Everything was tucked under her arm and she poked her head inside the doorway.

“Jacob? You in here?”

The smiling, older man rushed over to greet her, bowing apologetically. “Ah yes, Alex, what can I do for you? How’s your companion getting along?”

“That’s what I was coming to ask you about, actually. I think it’d be better if we just stayed for a few more days. I didn’t think it was a bad break when we got here, but Dr. Patricia said it didn’t look too good,” she explained, frowning. “Is that alright with you? I can pay for the beds if-”

“No, no, no, there’s no need to pay me, dear. You two take all the time that you need,” he said kindly, the grin on his face growing wide.

She thanked him, then walked back to the guest house to find MacCready passed out in the bed already. What a goof. The tin of sweet rolls was left for him on the nightstand, right next to his books, and just before she turned to go, she dropped the leftover caps into his purse. It was then that she noticed another pouch on the dresser he had clearly been digging around in while she was out, and curiosity got the better of her as she peered inside to see all of the little knick-knacks that she had given him. He was right; they really were weighing down his pockets!

Her smile grew huge as she looked up at his sleeping face, feeling her heart swell. How sweet of him to keep those things, even when they meant absolutely nothing to him.


	2. Chapter 2

“Holy fuck,” he breathed, suddenly staring up at the 50-foot ceiling instead of the doorway, which he was supposed to have been watching. Well, not now!

MacCready grit his teeth as he tried to lift himself into a sitting position, with no such luck. Goddamn, that hurt! One hand gripped his thigh as he let out a low groan and turned his head to see the railing he had been leaning up against, now ripped right out of the floor and twisted up beneath his back. He rolled to the side a bit instead, trying to see what had broken his fucking leg. It looked as if his ankle had gotten twisted in the bottom of the railing as it fell, and with it hurting so damn bad, he wasn’t sure if he should pull his leg out on his own or not.

But of course, Alex was nowhere to be found at that moment. Great. He sucked in a deep breath and-

“ **ALEX!** COULD USE SOME FREAKIN’ HELP IN HERE!”

Somewhere upstairs and down the hall, something crashed and then the sound of hurried footsteps clicked along the marble tiles until her terrified, googly-eyed face appeared at the edge of the landing. Alex peered down through the now rail-free space to see him lying there, probably glaring up at her.

“Get down here! I’m pretty damn sure I broke my leg, and I can’t get it out of this thing,” he cried, trying not to sound like too much of a wimp. It wasn’t the first time he’d broken a bone, not by a longshot, but it still hurt like hell every single time.

“Okay, here, I’m going to try and keep your leg straight. The railing isn’t twisted up, so if you just slide backwards, you’ll be out of it,” she said, already throwing her med pouch onto the ground as she crouched beside him. “It’s gonna hurt some, but I’ve got a stimpak and plenty of Med-X. Oh shit, it’s bleeding really badly, too. C’mon, I’ll hold it, just push yourself back.”

While she cradled his lower leg, MacCready clenched his jaw again and pushed himself away from the railing on his elbows. Yeah, that _definitely_ hurt. He fought hard against a pained cry rising in his throat as Alex scrambled to roll his pant leg up enough for her to see the damage. A screw must have nicked him, because blood was caking his shin where it was swollen and turning purple from the break. She took care of that first, cleaning the mess so she could assess the damage. A little frown pulled at her lip as she just stared at it, and he swallowed thickly as another wave of pain threatened to turn his vision black.

“Alex. Stimpak. Now.”

“Hang on, I’m getting there!”

“Just. Stick it in there. I’m layin’ on… something in my back pocket,” he moaned, though he knew exactly what it was that was poking into the back of his hip. It was all those bits of jun- No, they weren’t junk, they were just… _things_ that she brought him. “Stimpak it so I can move to a bench or something.”

A pinch, then a tight sort of coolness spread through his leg as she dosed him with the entire stimpak, then slid her wrist through the med pouch strap. The other shit could wait. Her arms slipped under his and she hauled him to his feet, moving a bit faster than he would have liked. Pain shot through his broken shin to his ankle, forcing him to clench his jaw and squeeze his eyes shut. Next thing he knew, she was laying him down on the bench with her sleeping bag tucked under his head.

Med-X was the next step, although he’d rather have gone without. No, the stimpak didn’t really cover the pain, but neither would this. It would just make him sleepy and high, and oh, did she just give him two doses? Of course, she did. Tack some nausea onto that list, too.

Oh well. At least she cared enough to do something for him, instead of tossing a stimpak into his lap and looking the other way.

“I’m gonna have to straighten your leg out so I can wrap it up, ‘kay?” she mumbled, pulling some gauze and splints from her pouch. “Are the meds working?”

“Y-yeaaah, they are. D’you, uuum, have a second stimpak? I’s not… done.”

Another stimpak appeared in her hand and she poked it a little lower than the first one, into a spot where the swelling hadn’t gone down much. The weirdly miraculous feeling of bones and muscle being stitched back together spread again, easing a bit more of the pain as it healed his leg. But before she could do much else, MacCready’s eyelids fluttered and he sighed as sleep forced its way into his head and dragged him into the darkness.

***

Doc Patricia said he’d need to stay off his leg for the rest of the week, but he honestly couldn’t be happier about it. Alex was making 110% sure - no, 120% sure! - that he was as comfortable as possible, and that meant all the comics and books he could read, a new pair of warm socks with no holes, pillows fluffed as often as he wanted… But the best part was easily that she brought him three big, hot meals a day, four if he asked, and they were always delicious. In fact, it was pretty tempting to break his leg a second time, just to keep her doting on him for another week.

“Hey, it was a steel railing, and it didn’t even look that rusted! Not my fault the guy who built the place couldn’t use longer screws,” he quipped, turning over the neat looking pen she’d brought him. Damn, how the hell was she so good at finding little things that he liked? It was like she could read his mind or something. “Why do you keep bringing me stuff? It’s always weighing down my pockets.”

“You do keep them?” she cried, flashing him those giant, blue googly-eyes again. Oh shit, had he really let that slip?!

“N-no, I mean- I misspoke,” MacCready said, nearly choking on his fork as he tried to shut himself up with a huge bite. Great, now he was blushing, too. He flipped the pen under his wrist and discreetly slipped it beneath the comic he’d left out on the mattress. No way did he want her to know how much he silently appreciated all the things she gave him, but he also didn’t want to get rid of the pen. He didn’t have much use for it, but it was still pretty damn cool. “Just take a couple caps over to Penny’s and buy me some sweet rolls, alright? And take your time. No rush.”

‘Course, he didn’t actually want the sweet rolls, at least not right this minute. The yao guai roast she’d brought him for lunch this time was a bit too much food, but he ate up every last bite anyway once she’d left the guest house. It was so good, and besides, she’d nag him about his leg not healing right if he didn’t eat what she considered to be enough. Which, unsurprisingly, was a _ton._

Well, she seemed to be really taking her time for once, so he figured it was safe enough to tuck the pen away in his things. The empty tray was pushed onto the nightstand before he stood on one leg and hobbled toward the dresser, pen in hand. All of the things Alex gave him were in their very own pouch on the back of his belt and he popped the button open to reveal handfuls of knick-knacks. There was the silver sniper rifle from a few days before, a tiny, plastic sword that looked a lot like Grognak’s, a fake shotgun shell to hide stuff in, and a keychain with a picture of a cave, complete with holographic bats, among other things residing in the bag. The pen was stuffed in there as best it would fit before he took the keychain out. It was easily his favorite, creepy-ass bats and all.

They were stupid little bits of junk, yeah, but they’d reminded Alex of him. She wasn’t usually much for talking, and when they’d first met, he honestly thought that she just hated him right off the bat. But then she’d started silently handing him these things and he slowly realized that she didn’t dislike him at all. It was only that she didn’t know how else to tell him so. As sappy as it was, he appreciated each small reminder that Alex _did_ want him around, and he never threw any of them out, even if he made her think that’s what he did. He couldn’t be letting her think that he cared or anything…

“Thanks, Deezer! See you later!”

Her sweet voice echoed in through the open doorway and he practically dove back into bed, thinking she was heading straight for the house. Thankfully, no one came up to the porch just yet, so he took a moment to get comfy and cursed the pain in his shin. By the time she walked through the door, he was effectively ‘napping’ and she clucked her tongue as she set the tin of sweet rolls on the nightstand. He cracked one eye as she twirled over to the dresser and put the rest of his caps away, though she lingered a bit longer than necessary. It wasn’t until she gave a tiny gasp that he remembered – the bag! The pouch was still sitting out on the dresser, the keychain lying right next to it, and it was obvious that she had seen as she turned back to him with the biggest damn smile on her face.

The rat’s out of the sack… or however that saying was supposed to go. Whatever. Alex knew he kept them now, and he was almost certain she would continue bringing him even more. In that case, he was _definitely_ going to need another pouch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I thought I would give you guys a bit of a surprise today for my birthday, so I hope you enjoyed it! :)


End file.
